Christmas Wishes from Jill's World!

The Eve of Christmas Eve...The excitement continues to build as the big day approaches!

As I'm sure I've mentioned before, Christmas Eve is, without a doubt, my most favourite day of the year. It beats out my birthday, it beats out any other holiday. It even beats out Christmas Day itself. There's nothing I look forward to more!

Usually Christmas Eve day I make a trip to Shawville to pick up snacks and treats for the holidays, then I watch a Christmas movie (Miracle on 34th Street), and wait for the rest of the family to gather at Mom & Dad's for dinner. After dinner, we go to church for Christmas Eve service, which is also my most favourite church service of the year. There's nothing quite like hearing Rolly play "Silent Night" while everyone holds candles and sings along at the end of the service...absolutely beautiful.

And THEN...the party begins!! We all head over to Patti & Randy's next door, where the drinks will flow, the snacks will be too die for, and the guitars and singing will be in full force. What better way to put in some time while waiting for Santa?! Almost a guarantee that our family anthem, "The Coconut Song", will be played at least ten times. Maybe more.

So while I look forward to the traditions and fun of my favourite day of the year, I hope you all have your own traditions and festivities to anticipate and be excited about. I hope this Christmas finds you happy and healthy and full of joy.

Merry Christmas...and see you in 2010!!!

Mike Fisher & Carrie Underwood: ENGAGED!

It would appear that country superstar Carrie Underwood got a pretty nice early-Christmas present from Ottawa Senators superstar Mike Fisher.

All the buzz on the gossip blogs, Twitter, and sports websites this morning was that Fisher proposed to Underwood yesterday, and she said yes. A family friend of the Underwoods' was the one to break the story wide open by posting a congratulations message on Twitter, and the news spread like wildfire. Fisher confirmed the rumours at the Senators morning skate today.

You could just hear the cries of despair and anguish from the female public in Ottawa!

It does seem as though Mike's got himself a pretty down-to-earth, sweet girl (as down-to-earth & sweet as you can get in a celebrity these days, anyways) - and I'm sure she must share his values and morals, as he is a very religious and spiritual person who has never been shy to talk about his faith. I'm quite happy to see one of Ottawa's most eligible bachelors ready to settle down and get married.

Hell, if I can live through Wade Redden's engagement & marriage (and the beautiful wedding photos that almost made me cry!), then I can be happy for anyone!

Best wishes to the future Mr. & Mrs. Fisher!!

My Poor Wade...

Two hockey Blogs in a row, you lucky dogs!

But this one is in stark contrast to yesterday's uplifting ode to Mike Fisher. Instead, today, I must vent about one of the hockey world's biggest whipping boys - my own, dearly beloved, Wade Redden.

Since Redden left town a year and a half ago to join the New York Rangers, I haven't heard much about him. And unfortunately, when I do hear about him, it's rarely good.

I've come to accept the fact that Wade is a grossly-overpaid veteran defenceman. His $6M/year salary is wayyyyyyy too much for the player he has become, now in the decline of his career. It's taken me a long time to come to terms with this and be able to admit it. But it's true.

That being said, if the price tag around his neck was in the $2-$3 Million range, no one would bat an eyelash.

But unfortunately for him, his salary has not matched his on-ice production, and for that, he's become one of the biggest poster boys in the NHL for crazy, undeserved salaries. One of the biggest mistakes a GM (Glen Sather) ever made.

It was with a heavy heart that I watched a clip on Sportscentre this morning of Redden dealing with a media scrum following the Rangers morning skate yesterday. He had arrived at the rink yesterday to discover his name on the healthy scratch list for last night's game, and then had a heated argument with Rangers coach John Tortorella about his benching. The Rangers went on to win last night without him in the line-up.

I believe this may be the first time Wade Redden has ever been a healthy scratch in his life. A tough pill to swallow, when you're being paid as if you're an elite d-man.

I still maintain that Wade Redden is not nearly as bad a player as the rest of the world has decided to paint him. And it royally sucks that he hasn't been able to rectify his reputation in New York. There was a time when this guy was one of the best on the blueline in the NHL. He was a Canadian Olympian. He was one of the Senators' golden boys.

I still don't know where it all went so wrong...

Who Needs Spezza When Ya Got Fisher?

The Ottawa Senators have been noticeably absent from the Blog thus far in 2009-2010 season.

Fear not - I haven't abandoned ship. In fact, I've been paying much more attention to the Sens this season than I did last year. Several contributing factors, I suppose - last season, I was still hurting and bitter over the departure of my #1, Wade Redden, to the New York Rangers. It didn't feel like my team without him. Also, the Sens were so dismal last year, it was hard to get excited about them, and when they failed to make the playoffs for the first time in eleven years, it was discouraging as a fan.

That being said, I'm no "fair-weather" supporter - I never stopped marching in the Sens Army. I was always interested in the outcome of games, made sure to attend several matches as usual, and when they quietly faded to black in early April while the top teams in the league battled on for Lord Stanley's Cup, I still called myself a Sens fan, and vowed we'd be back next year.

About 1/3 of the way through the '09-'10 campaign, it's quite clear they are a much-improved team. Stanley Cup worthy? Probably not. But they have been winning, playing more like a team, and it seems that head coach Cory Clouston has them on the right track.

Ah, but what would a Senators season be without at least a little adversity?

This past Monday night, Ottawa lost to the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs for the first time this season. As if that wasn't bad enough, they also lost star Jason Spezza to a torn MCL for up to two months - he likely won't be back until after the Olympic break in February.

Added to the fact that they are already without #1 goalie Pascal Leclaire, and forwards Chris Neil, Shean Donovan, and Nick Foligno, the Sens were scrambling to put together four solid lines for last night's game against the Buffalo Sabres, who came into Scotiabank Place riding a 4-game winning streak. Things were looking bleak.

But this year's version of the Ottawa Senators seem to be able to rise to the occasion, and that's exactly what they did last night. Nearing the end of the first period, d-man Alexandre Picard beat Sabres goalie Ryan Miller with a shot from the point, as Jonathan Cheechoo set up the perfect screen in front of the net. Then the Senators' biggest "pleasant surprise" so far this year, the studly Mike Fisher, added a late goal to seal the shut-out victory for Sens back-up 'tender Brian Elliott.

Where would the Sens be without Mike Fisher? For years, he's been a beloved fan favourite, despite the fact that his production never quite equalled the hype. Nobody ever liked to say anything bad about Fish. He's been so great in the community, involved with Roger's House and visiting sick kids in the area on a regular basis. And even though the devout Christian broke hearts with last year's announcement that he was dating country sweetheard Carrie Underwood, his new relationship endeared him even more to the hockey fans in Ottawa.

On the ice, he worked harder than anyone. He played his heart out every night, even though it wasn't always reflected on the scoreboard, and his grit, effort and determination were unmatched.

Still, it was always on the tips of everyone's tongues - that Fisher was not the player he was being paid big bucks to be. Nice guy, for sure, but not the flashy forward the Sens had hoped he'd develop into.

It's still too early in the season to proclaim that Mike Fisher has "arrived"; that he has finally broken out and become the elite player he was touted to be in his early years as a Sen. However, a very telling sign that Fisher is blossoming is the fact that, on the same night Jason Spezza was shelved with his knee injury, Mike Fisher scored his 14th of the season.

That was ten more goals than supposed "#1 centre" Spezza had at that time.

Even better? With his tally last night, Fisher now has two more goals than he did all of last season!

Suddenly, Fisher's being considered the team's top centre, not Spezza. And it's Fisher's name being mentioned as a possibility on Canada's Men's Olympic Team, not Spezza. And with Spezz now out for an extended period of time, the fans aren't panicking nearly as much as one would expect.

Why?

Because we've got Fisher. And so far this season, he's given us reason to believe in him.

More Success for the Pigott Brothers!

There's nothing I enjoy more than bragging about the Pigott Brothers' successes on the Blog.

I know I wasn't the only Canadian to "discover" them in the summer of 2008 on Canadian Idol, but I feel like I've been there from the beginning, so to speak, and it's awesome to see Oliver and Sebastian Pigott reaping the rewards of their hard work now, a year and a half later.


Sebastian has just finished his stint as Kai Booker on the popular CBC show Being Erica. Throughout the second season of the show, we learned that Kai was in the same time-travelling therapy that Erica was in, except that he was a "refugee from the future". He had been sent back to learn from a past regret (in his case, not finishing one of his songs, which led to a tumultuous life as a rock star and guilt over the suicide death of his best friend and bandmate, Travis). However, Kai had decided to stay there in his past, choosing to ignore his therapist and remaining a 22-year-old barrista at a coffee shop rather than going back to being a 32-year-old troubled rock sensation.

In the finale episode last Tuesday, in a pivotal and moving moment, Sebastian performed the single he and Oliver wrote, "Alien Like You" - known as Kai's unfinished song on the show. It was a beautifully bittersweet moment, as it became sort of was his farewell to Erica, and also his acceptance that he had to return to his real life, ten years into the future. Not only was it an emotionally-charged scene, we also were treated to a Kai montage, a series of clips of him & Erica from scenes throughout the season. So cool!

Following the Season 2 finale, the Pigott Brothers released their version of "Alien Like You" on-line for download. After a full week, it is currently the top download at http://www.cdbaby.com/, and Kai's version is also available on iTunes (search for "Sebastian Pigott").

There are currently no plans for Sebastian's character to return to Being Erica next season, but one can only hope that they'll find a way to work him back into the show. It was such a great feeling to turn on my TV every Tuesday night for the past few months and see him on Erica, a gig that allowed him to showcase both his acting, and his & Oliver's musical talents.

Even if Sebastian is not back, though, it appears that the Pigott Brothers are finally getting the recognition and fame they deserve. With the success of their single "Alien Like You", and an upcoming video release of the song "Rich Man" from their Pigottry album, the brothers continue to roll along, gaining momentum and fans as they go.

I'm so happy to be along for the ride!

Ten More Days...

December 15th. Already. I...can't...believe...it!! :) The Christmas countdown is officially on...Only 10 more days!! YAY!!

There's still so much left to do. I still have two parcels yet to arrive via mail, and until they do, I will continually fret that they've somehow been lost in transit. (It's happened already once this year, and with an order that I placed from the same website, http://www.shop.nhl.com/ - one parcel was somehow accidentally shipped to Taylor, Michigan. Great.)

Of course, I have nothing wrapped yet. For some reason, I don't like to wrap my Christmas presents until I have them all in my possession. It's like I'm afraid that once they're wrapped, I'll forget what they are or something. So I wait until I have all the gifts, then I have one big marathon wrapping session, and then it's all done. Wrapping is also one of my most favourite holiday tasks, so that could be why I hold off on doing it until the last minute - I want to savour every second of it!

And I still have some more baking to do, as the first go is already pretty much gone. That being said, my "baking" consists of melting chocolate in the mircowave, then refrigerating it into cookie bark or fudge. Simple and delicious...and not very time consuming! Perfect!

The one nice part about the Christmas season so far this year? A nice little blanket of the white stuff on the ground. Hopefully it sticks around. Christmas just isn't Christmas without some snow!

December 15th is a very special day for another reason now...Not only is it 10 days until one of my most favourite days of the year, it is also my niece Danica's birthday - and today, she turns 1! We celebrated her first birthday on Sunday with family gathering at Kara & Chris'. We quickly discovered Danica wasn't nearly as good at opening gifts as her brother was on his first birthday - she didn't even seem all that amused by the tissue paper!

She also didn't get to spend much time in her new pink car, as her brother and cousin pretty much took it over, taking turns going for rides in it.

But the one thing she did handle better than Caden did on his 1st birthday? The cake. She didn't cry when we sang happy birthday, and she stuck her fingers in the icing a few times before we finally cut the cake, claiming one corner of it for herself.

As Caden would say, "Happy Birthday little girl!!" xoxo

That Dane Cook...What a Silly Bitch!

December 11th was a date I had circled on my calendar for quite some time. No, not because it was Captain Alfie's birthday - (although that would be good enough reason to have the date circled - PRAISE ALFIE!!).

No. It was circled for another reason.

Dane Cook. In Ottawa, at Scotiabank Place.

Finally!!!


OK. So I haven't been waiting quite as long as some people. It took me a little longer to join the Dane Cook fan club than most. I love my comedy, but I usually only watch once in a while, when I happen to stumble upon Just For Laughs on TV. I was never really into devoting time to following one particular comedian, and aside from the few times they brought Yuk Yuk's to Quyon a few years back, I had never even seen a live show.

Then, about two year ago, I discovered Mitch Hedberg. To prove how late I was arriving on the comedian scene: Hedberg had already died of a drug overdose in 2005 before I "found" him. However, I enjoyed his act so much that I bought a couple of his albums. I let my brother borrow them, and in return, he gave me some of his Dane Cook CDs to check out.

Now, I wasn't living under a rock by any means - I knew who Dane Cook was; I had even seen a couple of movies he was in. But I certainly hadn't seen or heard his comedy routine for an extended period like that before. And while I got a kick out of Hedberg, I was literally laughing out loud until I had tears in my eyes listening to Dane.

And that's where my adoration for Dane Cook began.

I don't get the critics - so many who claim he's unfunny, so many of his own peers who don't understand why he's so phenomenally successful - and I don't profess to be all-knowing in what's funny and what's not - but Dane Cook makes me laugh. And when I say 'laugh', I mean laughhhhhhhhh.

The dude is hilarious.

(And the fact that he's got the tall-dark-n-handsome thing going for him doesn't hurt either...)

I read in the Ottawa Citizen prior to Cook's performance in Ottawa that the reason he may stand apart from other comedians is that often, a comic is someone who is in a minority, or who was picked on or bullied, and has made a career out of using humour to deflect and make others laugh at their own misfortunes in life. Dane Cook, on the other hand, is a pretty average, nice-looking, white male, who instead of using negativity and anger and frustration to base his comedy on, he uses his cheerful on-stage manner and just flat-out makes people laugh, whether discussing his own sexual adventures, whimsical ideas, and amusing situations he finds himself in.

The critics can say what they want. Dane Cook is a silly bitch.

When he hit the stage Friday night for his Global Thermo tour, the follow-up to his Isolated Incident album, it was like a rock star had entered the building. With G'n'R's "Welcome to the Jungle" blaring and fans screaming wildly, an army of security guards lined the path through the crowd that he eventually came running down and up onto the stage at centre-ice.

For the next hour and a half? Pretty much solid laughter. Like, pee your pants laughter. I had already heard most of his act since Luke had bought the Isolated Incident CD and we had listened to it several times, but Luke's right when he says it's even more hilarious to see him do his routine live. His physical act really adds to the humour.

Did I mention he's not bad to look at? Yeah. I kinda fell in love.

(And I also love this pic because of his shirt...)

With this new album and tour, Cook gets a little more personal - even a little more sentimental, if you will - as he touches on the death of both of his parents, nine months apart. In one bit, he discusses the difficulty of deleting his mom from his cell phone contacts two years after her passing, during which he almost has the audience softly going "Awwwwww". The funny part, of course, comes about when he thinks about trying to call her one last time before deleting her and wondering what might happen if she actually answered. ("Honey, I PUNK'D you! That's what you guys call it, right? Punk'd?")

And of course, there's the joke he used as his encore, about receiving an email from anonymous@yahoo.com ("Right away, I think, 'Great f*cking name!' This guy got the original 'Anonymous'- not 'anonymous_69_kitty_kitty_lick_lick'!") He goes on to explain that the bitter emailer wrote to tell him that both of his parents got sick and died to get away from him and his crappy comedy. He claims the email haunted him for almost two years, caused him deep depression and sadness, but that two years later, once again, another email came from the same address ("...and once again, I think, 'Great f*cking name!'") The repentful emailer apologizes for his horrific email from two years before, explains that he was drinking and jobless at the time, and that he is now dealing with the death of his own father from a brain tumor.

Of course, Dane says..."I had to reply ... 'Dear Anonymous, Your father got a brain tumour and died to get away from his alcholic, unemployed, spineless son.'" Then he drops to the stage amidst the uproarious laughter crying, "I win! I WIN!"

But possibly the biggest laugh of the night? That came during his joke about getting hit in the head with a bowling ball while hiding in the closet. But I really can't repeat the rest of that one on the Blog! ;)

At the end of the night? Dane got a big SUperFInger (or SU-FI) salute from the fans in Ottawa. What an awesome evening of fun and laughs.



Can't wait til he comes back!!

The Death of Mr. Deer

I love snow. Abso-lute-ly LOVE IT!!

So I've anxiously anticipated this snowstorm we're in the midst of ever since they started warning us about it a few days ago. A possible 20 centimetres of whirling, swirling white stuff. Perfect! And boy, is it ever coming down.

Unfortunately, the blowing snow has not been kind to the already-beleaguered deer decoration on our front lawn.

You see, I became the proud owner of little Mr. Deer a few weeks ago when Lindsay was clearing out her garage and giving away all of the odds and ends Bill & Sue didn't want to take to their new house and that she herself had no use for. I immediately snagged the deer. Last year, having just moved in shortly before the holiday season, we had no time to get up Christmas lights. This year, we discovered there is no way of putting any up on the house, so Mom, Luke & I put some lights on a few of the trees in the yard. I was still disappointed that we didn't have enough.

That's why I snagged the deer. I thought he would make a lovely, twinkly addition to our outdoor decorating.

Upon taking him out of his box and plugging him in, we discovered that his front legs didn't light up, nor did his neck, but the rest of him was fine. He even had a head that swiveled slowly back and forth. I thought he was pretty cool!

So this past Saturday, I pegged him down into the frozen ground - so sure he wouldn't budge - and for a night or two, he was happily lit up and guarding our front door.

Then, the other evening, I noticed his head had gone out. No more lights from the neck up. I tried to fix him, but my attempts were in vain. I couldn't get the lights back on. I disregarded our neighbour Shannon's text ordering me to "Go outside and fix your damn deer, he's freaking me out". I didn't think he looked that bad. Then, yesterday morning, her status on Facebook read that she was travelling to work and laughing about my headless deer.

Then a couple of people "liked" her status. Ok, I thought, so maybe my deer needs some help.

I tried tweaking the bulbs and twisting the wires again last night, but I couldn't get the bugger to light up if I paid him.

Then, this morning, it was a complete horror show. During the night, the twirling, swirling blowing snow had knocked my half-lit deer down. When I went outside, he was face-planted into a little drift, and his swiveling head literally made him look like he was having a seizure. Right there, on our snowy front lawn. Not only that, his belly cage protecting all of his wires was open and filled with snow.

I'm sure Shannon was cracking up over it.

Our poor deer.

What Ever Happened to Macaulay Culkin?

Sunday evening, Luke and I watched one of the greatest holiday classics of our generation: Home Alone.

I remember the first time I saw the movie. I was probably in Grade 2 or 3. And I don't think I had ever laughed so hard throughout a film before it.

Now, as an adult, it still holds it's charm and humour. Maybe I don't split a gut laughing over it, but I still chuckle at Kevin's plight of being left behind while his family all jets off to Paris, France for Christmas. And even almost twenty years later - (can you believe it? The movie was released in 1990!) - the jokes, the storyline, and the elaborate booby-traps Kevin sets up to wreak havoc on the wannabe burglars, aren't that dated and still make for a great holiday on-screen romp.

But after watching it on Sunday, I got to thinking about the boy that made the movie such a huge success way back when: Macaulay Culkin. Quite possibly one of the greatest child actors of our time, and yet...where is he now?

Culkin rocketed to stardom after starring as Kevin McAllister in both Home Alone, and it's sequel two years later, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Around the same time, he also starred in the popular film, My Girl. Everyone was wowed and amazed by the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, pint-sized comedic genius.

However, Culkin's box office appearances after that were only mildly-successful, and before long, he had grown out of his cute phase - as an adolescent, his image was not nearly as appealing.

Then came the turmoil - that which seems to catch up to and haunt almost any star who peaks as a child.

Macaulay Culkin was a very close friend to Michael Jackson, and is even rumoured to be the godfather of Jackson's three children, Paris, Prince Michael, and Prince Michael II. As a young boy, he spent time with Jackson at his Neverland Ranch, and of course, allegations arose that he was sexually abused by the King of Pop. (Culkin denied that Jackson was ever inappropriate with him, and claims that they were just friends).

Then, Culkin shocked the public by marrying actress Rachel Miner in 1998, when he was only 18 years old. They divorced 2 years later. He was also arrested in 2004 and spent time in jail in Oklahoma for possession of drugs. Add to all this, the rumours that he had a strained relationship with his father, Kit Culkin, and it would appear that he had spiralled downward, as so many child stars before him, into a chaotic miserable existence filled with substance abuse and severe relationship problems.

That's sort of where I lost track of the boy who had once had the entire world wrapped around his little finger.

As it turns out? Macaulay's not really doing that bad these days. I Wikipedia'd him this morning, only to discover he's been dabbling in acting again in recent years, and while his roles and performances have not even come close to garnering the same attention that he did as Kevin McAllister in the Home Alone movies, he has actually earned critical praise for them.

And another shock to me? He's been dating Mila Kunis of That 70's Show and Family Guy fame since 2002.

So almost twenty years later, the boy who was considered the second greatest child star ever (after only Shirley Temple)...well, he's doing alright. And if you need to be reminded of his adorable sharp wit and how hilarious he could be, there's no better time to indulge yourselves.

Home Alone is still a great way to spend an evening in December!

Do I Have to Pick a Team?

I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen a movie more than once in theatres.

40 Days and 40 Nights, during my massive obsession on Josh Hartnett. American Pie 2, because during my high school/college years, there was nothing cooler or more funny than the first few American Pie flicks. And PS, I Love You, because seriously, who wouldn't want to go see Gerard Butler AND Jeffrey Dean Morgan - in the same movie - more than once on the big-screen?!

I think that's it. Until this week. Wednesday night, I went to see New Moon for the second time in two weeks. Allow me to indulge the 14-year-old girl inside of me with yet another Twilight blog, folks. 'Cause as silly as it is, this latest installment in the film version of Stephenie Meyer's vampire love story has thrust me into one hell of a dilemma.

Am I Team Edward or Team Jacob?

After reading the books, I was 100% Team Edward. In fact, I found Jacob annoying, always hanging around, always trying to lure her away from the cold, dead, sparkly sexiness. Sure, Jake was sweet and protective - but he was just a kid (or a puppy, if you will...) Edward was perfection.

Then came the first film, in which Jacob actually only had a very small role. Of course, he was cute & charming, but the long black hair? Ick. No attraction whatsoever. I still was a full-fledged, card-carrying member of Team Edward.

Next came my first viewing of New Moon. All of a sudden, Jake was lookin' all grown up (despite the fact that his character is still only 16 years old), with short hair, and as I drooled about in my "20 Things to Love about New Moon" Blog, the boy got buff. And I mean buff. And he hardly wore a shirt. Like, ever.

I came away from the movie still very much an Edward fan, but starting to see why Jacob had so many giddy girls lusting after him.

And then came Round 2. I went with Lindsay, who had already pretty much declared herself Team Jacob. I went into the theatre pretty determined to stick up for my Edward, even already knowing how I would be left a little breathless the first time Jacob peeled off his shirt. And every time he appeared shirtless thereafter.

But it's just so hard to stick by Edward when, throughout most of the movie, it's all about Jacob. He's the one who's there for Bella when Edward abandons her. He's the one who protects her from evil vampires Laurent and Victoria. He's the one who runs around in the rain wearing only cut-off jeans.

Edward might be cold and sparkly and beautiful, but Jacob is the one who is warm and ruggedly-handsome.

And all of this babbling about the werewolf boy is so so soooo wrong because the kid is only 17. I'm old enough to have been his baby-sitter. Eeeeek.

I feel rather unfaithful to Edward, but I'm starting to think I can't pick a team. Edward vs. Jacob - why do I have to choose? This isn't a Sens vs. Leafs thing, is it? Just because I adore one doesn't mean I can't adore the other...

I can't make up my mind.

So for now, I've decided to set up camp in Switzerland. It's lovely here.

Here, it's okay to love them both. ;)

The Christmas Craziness Begins...

December 1st. One of my most favourite days of the year.

Now, nobody can tell me it's too early to decorate or sing Christmas carols or turn on the Christmas lights. It's officially "okay" to get into the holiday spirit!

A little hard to do this year, considering the severe lack of snow on the ground... But I've managed to get myself wound up for the holidays anyways. Most of my gift buying is done (God bless you, on-line shopping), I have my iTunes Christmas playlist ready to roll, I have all the ingredients to make my potluck dishes and Christmas baking, I have dug up all my favourite festive specials on both VHS and DVD, and I have re-stocked my inventory of gift wrap, bags, bows, and tags.

I'm not sure I've ever been this prepared for Christmas before in my LIFE!

I was doing a little looking back on the Blog, and I was reminded of how different the "waiting" was last year - because not only was I preparing for Christmas, I was also anxiously anticipating the arrival of my sister & her husband's second baby.

My niece Danica will be 1 on December 15th. Seriously, where did this year go?!?!?

And while I was absolutely thrilled the day she was born, I've now realized that adding her in to the mix, I know have three - count 'em , THREE! - December birthdays in my family. Dad on the 10th, Kara on New Year's Eve, and now Dan too on the 15th. As if the Christmas season wasn't jam-packed enough...or hard enough on my wallet!

So now, the busiest of months begins - Christmas gatherings with friends, birthday parties for family members, the parade, Dane Cook on the 11th, a Sens game on the 21st...

Let the Christmas Craziness BEGIN! :)

Murder at the Trickle Creek Lodge!

It's happened again. Seems to happen every year in this town, usually late in November.

Somebody, inevitably, drops dead at the Lions Hall. And then all hell breaks loose...

Yep. Another successful Murder Mystery in the books. This was the 17th annual for the Quyon Lionettes, and I'd like to know, has there ever been a year when they weren't told it was "the best one ever"?

This was my second year directing, along with Brenda, and once again, the show went off without a hitch. I think I can speak for both of us when I say we had an amazing cast, and they were firing on all cylinders when it came showtime! They literally had the audience dying with laughter (no pun intended).

Everyone was invited back to 1983, where the college gang from '63 had gathered at the Trickle Creek Lodge for their 20-year reunion. Unfortunately, before the fun could begin, one of them, Bobby Whitmore (Kenny Fleck), turned up dead in the bathtub. Lieutenant Frazer Watson (Curtis Hudson) of the Quyon Police Department arrived on the scene and narrowed the list of suspects down to eight:

Peter McCoy (Shawn Laframboise), owner of the Trickle Creek Lodge and a gambling man; Cynthia Lauper (Laura Stewart), editor of a trendy woman's magazine and former college radical group leader; Bill "Backstop" Bishop (Rolly Bernier), a one-time fastball star with the Quyon Flyers, but had taken one to many hits to the head; Phyllis Vanielli (Lynn Kearns), a high-flying stewardess caught up in the aerobics craze; Keharn Flake (Troy Cote), a "Whiz Kid" in college, but now more of a drunken mess; Wanda Wickers (Sherri-Lynn Foran), a spoiled Russian princess with a 'wicked' attitude problem; Denis Mais-Oui (Pat Carty), an undercover police officer who had dug up some dirt on his old classmates; and Bess Diddler (Steph Belanger), a beauty queen in college who ended up crippled and in a wheelchair after a devestating snowmobile accident.

Did I mention how awesome they were? Literally, one of the most enthusiastic casts I've ever been involved with. Very early on in the process, they each had begun developing their characters, coming up with names, costumes, wigs, and accents that they carried through and perfected by the time they hit the stage last Saturday night. Everything from French to Russian, ditzy to drunk, spray-painted hair to mullets, red boas to a Hawaiin shirt with a "tigger" on it...They were a diverse bunch, to say the least!

And quite literally - they had the crowd in stitches. The funny stuff they had come up with? I seriously can't even begin to describe it, because I wouldn't be able to do it any justice.

Of course, they caused me a few panic attacks along the way, including a scene that they actually did in REVERSE!! And we didn't make it through the evening without swearing, thanks to "Jumbo- F-BOMB -Tron"!! But overall, it was so much fun, and I'm again a little lost, as I am every year, now that it's over.

In the end, the game of "whodunnit" was solved by Dale MacKechnie, who correctly identified Keharn as the murderer, and provided the best reasons for how and why he murdered poor Bobby. It wasn't until Lieutenant Watson brought in his K9 unit, Shadow, though, that the murderer was finally "sniffed out"!!

Special thanks once again to all who were involved - to our incredible cast; to Brenda for keeping me sane, setting the stage, and coming up with all the awesome decorating ideas, as well as her hand in directing; to Tania Racine, Donna Provost, and Barb Meredith for their behind-the-scenes work in organizing the event; to the Lionettes for not only hosting, but also providing the delicious dinner; to Randy Labadie Financial for providing the prize; to the servers, bartenders, etc.; and of course, to the people who bought the tickets, showed up, laughed until they cried, and then told us it was "the best one ever"...

Now...it'll be fun to see if we can top it again next year!

(Cast photo thieved from Kristen Hodgins' Facebook - from left to right - Laura Stewart, Lynn Kearns, Rolly Bernier, Steph Belanger, Troy Cote, Sherri-Lynn Foran, Curtis Hudson, Pat Carty with Shadow, and Shawn Laframboise)

How Much I Loved New Moon...

To call this past weekend 'exciting' would be a bit of an understatement.

What a weekend!

To kick things off - I saw New Moon on Friday!! WOO-HOO!! I took the day off work to take Brittany, who was also off on a PD Day. We made sure we got to the Colisseum theatre in Ottawa early, as our showtime was 12:20 PM. Sure enough, by 10:30, the line-up was starting to form. Britt and I were fortunate to be at the head of the line, and got awesome seats, exactly where we wanted to be - last row, dead-centre.

It's impossible for me to write a re-cap that would fully capture how much I loved New Moon. So instead, I'm just going to give you a list of 20 reasons why I loved New Moon. And here they are, in no particular order.

1. Taylor Lautner takes his shirt off.

For those of you who don't know the story - Lautner plays Quileute native Jacob Black, Bella's childhood friend. Jacob becomes more than just a friend to Bella in New Moon - that's when the love triangle between him, Bella, and Edward begins to take shape. Edward has deserted Bella, in the hopes of keeping her safe from his dangerous world, but in his heart-breaking absence, Bella finds comfort in Jake. Lautner, only 17 years old, was in jeopardy of losing his role as Jacob in New Moon, but he fought hard to keep it by tackling a vigorous work-out & diet regimen that saw him pack on 30 lbs. of raw muscle for the flick.

And in the scene when Bella crashes her bike and Jacob first removes his shirt (you know, to help stop the bleeding on her forehead) - a very appreciative gasp went up from the predominantly female audience.

Yowzers. I've always been Team Edward, but I'm starting to appreciate where the Jacob fans are coming from...

2. OK. Now that I've got the Jacob drooling out of my system...Edward. Oh, sweet, sparkly, cold-as-ice Edward. He's beautiful. Rob Pattinson? Sexiest man alive. And even though we don't get to see him as much in New Moon, I'd still go see it just for the few amazing scenes and the "apparitions" he appears in. So awesome.

3. The Volturi - The creepy leaders of the Vampire world. Pretty cool to see them come to life. And Michael Sheen in the role of Aro was amazing - exactly how I imagined Aro should be.

4. The wolf pack - Jacob's brethren. In human form, they're all rather handsome young men who spend most of their time shirtless and in cut-off jeans. And when they're in wolf-form, they're pretty amazing CGI wolves. What's not to love about the wolves?

5. Bella's human friends, especially Mike & Jessica, add wonderful touches of humour to an otherwise somber, dark film. Both Michael Welch and Anna Kendrick sparkle - and even steal the few scenes they are in!

6. Taylor Lautner takes his shirt off. Mmmmm...

7. The movie has a pretty wicked soundtrack, which I downloaded last week in anticipation of the film's release. The only downside? No R. Pattz. Apparently Rob declined any offers to be on the New Moon soundtrack, despite pleasing his fans with two contributions to the first movie. Word is, he didn't want people to think he was cashing in on the movie, using it as a stepping-stone for his music, which he still considers his "back-up plan". Too bad, considering he's pretty talented on both guitar and piano, and is reminiscent of Ray LaMontagne with his vocals.

But, even without, Rob, we've got Death Cab For Cutie, OK Go, Grizzly Bear, Muse, The Killers, and Thom Yorke. No complaints!

8. Kristen Stewart! She does a fabulous job of portraying Bella - I can't imagine anyone else in the role. She portrays the pained-and-depressed side so well, but the bonus was that she got to smile a little more than her character ever did in the book. (And yes, I do believe her slightly more happy character might have something to do with Taylor Lautner taking his shirt off...)

9. The underwater scene. After Bella goes cliff-diving, and before Jacob rescues her, there's a dream-like moment underwater, where she lingers side-by-side with Edward. Kind of took my breath away.

10. Alex Meraz. He plays the role of Paul, one of Jake's friends in the wolf pack. Aycarumba!

11. Bella & Jacob's almost kisses. Never thought I would root for Jacob over Edward - and, well, I still don't - but when Edward was gone, it was very easy to get caught up in Jacob's hotness. And there were two scenes in the movie where they come very close to kissing! The two steamiest non-kisses I've ever seen in my life!

12. Bella's "date" with Mike and Jacob to the see the action movie Face Punch was priceless. Poor Mike. The guy is trying to compete with a vampire and a werewolf...he never stood a chance!

13. Taylor Lautner takes his shirt off. YUM.

14. The Cullen Family. They don't get a lot of screen-time this time around, but Edward's pseudo-family of vampires also provide a bit of the comic relief - Kellan Lutz as Emmett, especially. If you had to be a vampire, I'm thinking they'd be a pretty cool bunch to hang out with.

15. Dakota Fanning as Jane, the little vampire girl who can cause anyone horrific pain with just a glance. For so long, we've seen Dakota as the sweet little wide-eyed child-star - it was sort of neat to see her looking vicious with the blood-red eyes. And while I did not enjoy her causing my beloved Edward such pain, her acting resume has definitely been ramped up with this effort.

16. Edward & Bella's reunion in Volterra. When Alice whisks Bella off to Italy to save Edward, she must make her way through a throng of red-cloaked festival-goers, across a busy square, and through a fountain before finally flying into his arms and embracing him. Passionate does not begin to describe it. Seriously awesome.

17. Edi Gathegi & Rachelle Lefebvre reprise their roles as nomadic vampires Laurent and Victoria. Laurent tries to kill Bella before she's saved by the wolves, and Victoria's relentless pursuit of Bella is still not completed by the end of New Moon. It's just too bad Cam Giagandet didn't make it to the second film (his character, James, was killed in Twilight). That was some serious evil vampire hotness...

18. Billy Burke is back as Bella's overprotective dad, Charlie, and he's another scene-stealer in a flick where it's pretty hard to steal scenes from the likes of Pattinson, Lautner, and Stewart.

19. Back to Edward...Possibly my favourite part of the movie was a very simple one - at the very beginning, on the day of Bella's birthday, she's hanging out in the school parking lot with her human friends, when Edward pulls up and gets out of his car. He walks towards her, all gorgeous and slow-motion-y, and I think my heart might have just stopped, he was so beautiful. *sigh*

20. Oh. Did I mention Taylor Lautner takes his shirt off?

OK. So I intended this blog to be a re-cap of both my exciting weekend events - New Moon and the Murder Mystery. However, I think this is long enough for today. Look for the re-cap of "Up the Creek" in the next few days!

PS - If anyone wants to go see New Moon - I'm so up for going again! Let me know! :)

I Heart Fridays

Ah, Friday. My favourite day of the week!

But this one is super-special, 'cause we're now officially ONE WEEK away from The Twilight Saga: New Moon hitting theatres! Can't wait!

And here are a few reasons why I can't wait:

And another good thing about Fridays? Memories of my delicious Dr. Alex Karev dancing in my head. Last night was a tough one for Alex on Grey's. Izzie returned to seek medical help for an old high school teacher of hers, but she still wasn't talking to Alex. I hate to see Alex so tortured...Except he's so hot when he's tortured.

Anyways, found a smokin' pic of Justin Chambers that I hadn't seen before, thought I'd share it with the female public out there:

Last but not least - what else makes this Friday so awesome? Well, I'm one day away from getting to see my dearly beloved Wade Redden again. Tomorrow I'm headed to SBP for a 2PM game vs. the Rangers with Mom, Luke, Kara, and Caden. Can't believe it's already been a year since I saw him live in his new colours. There won't be any special tribute to him tomorrow, though, so at least I don't have to worry about crying at the game. GO SENS GO!!

And, because I'm dropping in so many yummy pics this week...well, here's one of my favourites of Wade in his NYR duds:

The Newest Canadian TV Star...

I knew from the first moment I saw the Pigott brothers audition on Canadian Idol two summers ago that there was something special about those guys - they oozed charisma and charm, and were talented to boot.

I've gushed about them many times on the Blog - this shouldn't be anything new to my regular readers.

But I'd like to take a moment just to do a little dance and squeal, I knew it, I knew it, I KNEW IT!!

Because in the past few months, the Pigotts have had a few big breaks. And if their stars continue to shine as brightly as they have since they were booted from the Idol stage, pretty soon everyone across this great country of ours will know who they are.

Oliver and Sebastian recently released their Pigott Brothers album, "Pigottry". I bought the downloadable version, and have thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. The remastered version is also now available, and their talent for music and songwriting never ceases to amaze me.

And for Sebastian, things in the acting world have kind of blown up. Since Idol, he's had guest roles on several Canadian TV shows, including The Border, The Listener, and Heartland. And this past fall, he's finally landed a permanent home on the popular Canadian show, Being Erica.

I'll admit to having never bothered watching the show until I heard Sebastian was turning up as a regular. But I'm so glad I've started. For Canadian TV, this one is actually pretty awesome - witty, well-written, edgy, sexy, and fun. The show centres around Erica Strange (Erin Karpluk), a young woman who is in a very special kind of therapy. Every week, she meets with her therapist, Dr. Tom, who sends her back in time to relive a regret from her past in order to come back and make positive changes in her present life.

This season, Sebastian was introduced as Kai Booker, the barista working at Goblins, a cafe that Erica frequents. As they have become friends, Erica has discovered that Kai is also in the same kind of time traveling "therapy" as she is, but that he still has many secrets he is not willing to let her in on...Not yet, anyways...

The best part about Sebastian being on the show? His role as the artsy, musical barista has allowed him to incorporate his & Oliver's music into the show. They have currently written two songs for the show, including "Alien Like You", a sweet, melodic song which Kai performed at an open mic night.

Not only am I thrilled to see the brothers doing so well for themselves on the Canadian music & television stages, I'm also excited to have found a television show from this country that I'm actually really interested in...I'm hooked! I can't wait to see each week what adventures Erica is going to find herself on, and to learn more about Kai. (Of course, if he continues to have steamy love scenes like he did last night, I'd keep going back just to watch that, even if the rest of the show was crap. Fortunately, it isn't!)

Tuesdays at 9 PM, folks - it's worth a watch. And how about one more round of applause for Oliver & Sebastian Pigott...So great to see how far they've come!

When Things Go Bump in the Night...

I'm not sure why, but lately I've been showing a soft-spot for scary movies.

I really don't get it. But I guess my desire to curl up on the couch with popcorn and repeatedly jump and gasp while being terrorized by on-screen horror was brought on by Halloween in the past few weeks.

I was a big horror flick fan in high school. Of course, it was a great time to discover an affection for scary movies. The mid-to-late '90's saw the release of a huge crop of teen slasher flicks, starting with Scream. It seemed like every weekend, we were gathering at somebody's house to watch the latest scary movie to hit the video stores - I Know What You Did Last Summer, Idle Hands, The Blair Witch Project, Final Destination, Halloween: H20, and so on.

I saw them all. And for the most part, hanging out with friends and screaming and laughing was a total blast.

But it was in college, I believe, that we went to the theatre to see the re-make of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I spent the entire time hiding behind my coat, and beside me, Sara was doing the same. We ended up looking at each other from behind our coats more than we actually watched the big screen. It felt like the longest two hours of my life - it felt like it was never going to end. When it was finally over, I remember thinking I spent $10 to hide behind my jacket, and what a flippin' waste of money that was.

(When it was released on DVD, we did the same thing all over again in my parents' basement with Erin - she watched, while Sara and I hid behind pillows.)

And that seemed to be where my love for scary movies ended. Oh, I've seen a few of them over the years - The Exorcism of Emily Rose, for example, but because it was based on a true story and included a courtroom drama, I didn't quite classify it as "horror". And then there was my attempt at watching the re-make of The Hills Have Eyes. I don't know if I made it through half an hour of it. It just re-affirmed my loathing of scary movies.

The Saw movies? Hostel? Not a chance in hell.

But I re-visited those fun high school days of watching scary flicks be buying and watching all three Scream movies leading up to Halloween, just to get me in the mood - and maybe they seemed more tolerable because I had already seen them all in my teen years, and sort of knew what to expect.

But that was it - I was done with them again after that!

Until...Sarah told us last week a friend from work had downloaded and made a copy of Paranormal Activity, the latest horror flick to hit theatres. Audiences have raved that it's one of the scariest movies ever, and apparently people have been getting up and leaving in the middle of it because it's that terrifying.

And Sarah wanted to know if we'd watch it with her.

I was intrigued. The scariest movie ever? What would it be like? Would I survive it? If I couldn't survive The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, how would I ever survive this? But I was curious, so along with Sue and Brenda, I agreed to watch it.

The low-budget flick introduces us to two main characters, Katie and Micah, a young couple living in a suburban tract house. Katie claims to have had paranormal experiences off-and-on since she was a child, and the entity that haunts her has now followed her to this house, and it is growing more hostile. Micah has bought a camera to set up in their room to try and capture some of this paranormal activity while they are sleeping.

Over the course of several weeks, he catches increasingly-frightening activity each night. Loud thuds and footsteps. Doors slamming. Grunts and whispers. Katie climbing out of bed and standing, staring at him, for hours at a time, without barely moving.

Stuff like that.

Okay, so it was a little freaky.

But the scariest movie everrrrrrrrr? Not quite. Not in my books, anyways. For one thing, I found it rather reminiscent of The Blair Witch, which I also was not overly-impressed by. Hours of documentary-style footage, shaky hand-held filming, odd angles, etc. - which can kind of drag on and get boring after awhile - and then builds us up to an ending that happens so quickly, it's like, "Huh?" (Now, to be fair, the version of the film we saw was not the one with the ending being seen currently in theatres. And from what I've read, the other ending is a little more creepy...) Also, the few other characters in the movie - Katie's friend, and the psychic who visits their home - were absolutely horrible actors.

That being said, there were a few good things to talk about. For one thing, Katie and Micah were entirely believable in their roles as a young couple being terrorized and torn apart by a demon haunting them. Micah was also good for a few laughs. When Katie screamed and he jumped, but then went back for the camera, only to discover her frightened by a giant spider in their bathroom - it was pretty comical, especially when she cries, "Did you go back for the camera?!" Another time, while trying to communicate with the spirit, Micah asks, "What is your quest?...What is your favourite colour?"

(There was debate amongst us afterwards on what kind of guy Micah was - in my opinion, he seemed like a typical guy who discovers his girlfriend is being terrorized by a demon - at first, laughs it off, then tries to have fun with it with all his gadgets and ghost hunting, and eventually gets possessive and macho and down-right pissed when he realizes he actually is dealing with something out of his league and pretty frightening. I thought it was kinda sweet how he tried to protect her. Brenda, on the other hand, thought he was a complete asshole.)

To be honest - the night clips of their bedroom and the scary shit going down...well, yeah, it was pretty creepy. But I really have no idea why people would get up and leave this one in the middle of it. I never even had to hide my eyes.

I realize that a scary movie doesn't necessarily need guts and gore to make it scary; that this one hits more on a psychological level. What do you do when things are going bump in the night? What do you do when it always happens when you're asleep and you're at your most vulnerable? What do you do when it's a volatile demon taking pleasure in terrorizing you? What do you do when you can't make it go away?

I guess that's the reason why this one is making waves and getting people excited about horror flicks again.

And despite the fact that I think I've seen scarier - I guess that's also why I went to sleep that night with the lights on...

Heart-to-Heart

A long time ago, I remember reading an article (I think it was in Readers Digest) about a young couple that had a pre-mature baby. The baby was struggling, and spent the first months of its life in the hospital, where each day was touch-and-go. Terribly under-developed, the doctors were certain the child wouldn't live.

Until one day, the (ridiculously-handsome) father of the baby visited his child in the NICU, and the nurses told him he could take the baby out of the incubator and hold it if he wanted to. After holding it for awhile, the medical staff noticed the baby's vitals were improving. One doctor suggested to the father that he take his shirt off, and hold the child skin-to-skin, as he had heard that often gave preemies a boost.

There was a picture of that dad, shirtless, holding his itty-bitty infant against his chest. It was an image that stuck with me.

The father spent hours every day doing exactly that, as his child became stronger and beat the odds. Several months after pre-maturely arriving into this world, the couple were allowed to take their healthy baby home. The doctors credited the baby's miraculous rally to the hours spent in its father's arms, snuggled against his chest. The skin-to-skin contact, and the father's heartbeat, were the reason they said the baby began to thrive on its own.

It was a story I've never forgotten, so you can imagine my delight when I got to see it played out last night on Grey's Anatomy.

In last night's episode, a pregnant woman was in a car accident, and her baby actually had a stroke in the womb. They performed an emergency C-section to deliver the pre-mature baby, but after working on the child endlessly, it was deemed that it would not survive.

You all know how much I absolutely adore the hot-but-troubled Dr. Alex Karev. In recent episodes, Alex has been more troubled than usual. He married Izzie last season at the height of her battle with cancer, and in earlier episodes this season, Izzie returned to work, only to be fired after Seattle Grace's merger with Mercy West Hospital. She left Alex, and nobody has seen or heard from her since.

Kinda makes for an even-more-hostile-than-usual Alex.

But that's the beauty of Alex. Despite his crusty, edgy, brutal exterior attitude, inside we've seen glimpses of a big softie. Especially when it comes to Izzie. And especially when it comes to him working in Pediatrics. He's had a knack with the little ones since the first season. He never fails to melt my heart when he's dealing with the kiddies.

But last night, it was extra-special. After fighting to save the baby's life, he'd given up. So he picked the baby up, knowing it didn't have a chance, and murmured, "You're not alone...I'm here...you're not alone..."

Bailey found him a while later, still holding the child, and they realized that the baby's vital signs were actually improving. She remarked that Alex was holding the baby Kangaroo-style, and she had heard of cases of preemies beginning to thrive when the parents held them like that. She encouraged Alex to take off his shirt, and see if the skin-to-skin, heart-to-heart contact would also help.

No complaints from me. The studly Justin Chambers, shirtless, holding a baby? Holy cow.

And, of course, it worked. Alex never left the baby. He stayed there, half-naked, while the rest of the doctors teased & made fun of him. But Alex knew the mother, recovering from her car accident injuries, was unable to be with her child, so he stuck with it. He had nowhere else to go - with Izzie gone, Alex is so lost and alone. And he bonded with that little baby, also lost and all alone.

It was a bittersweet moment when they wheeled the mother in to meet her baby for the first time, and Alex had to hand the infant over. Thanks to him, the baby survived, but it had a mother who loved it and was ready to take over. Alex, on the other hand, still has no idea where Izzie is, and he's still all alone and fighting to make it through each day without crumbling...

Definitely one of my favourite Grey's episodes, ever.

There was one other special moment - a heart-wrenchingly sad moment - during this episode that was centred in the Peds ward. When Arizona lost a long-time patient of hers, a little boy named Wallace, and had to bring his parents to the morgue to see him one last time - well, that scene just about ripped my heart out. It truly captured the horrorific grief a parent feels after losing a child.

It's a place one should never have to go.

OK, so I've rambled about Grey's long enough now...but at least it's a blog, right? On two consecutive days. A miracle all on its own!

Have a good weekend :)

Snow Day!

It's been a billion years since I last wrote a blog...The guys were still playing ball for crying out loud.

(But for the record - that doesn't seem like all that long ago in my world. Where the heck did October go?!)

Anyways - good thing ball season's over, 'cause November has hit with a bang. Yes, that's right, a nice little dusting of snow today to remind us all that fall is officially over and we're swinging very quickly into the holiday season! YESSSSSSSSS!

But does anybody remember the early hit of snow we took last year? Makes today look like nothin'. It came on October 28th last year. And it was a good couple of inches. Complete ground cover. For most people in the area, it was a nightmare.

However for me - the kid who loves all things snowy and Christmassy - it rocked!

I love November. It's when the slow build of excitement leading up to December 25th begins. This is the time of year I start my Christmas shopping, start booking holiday parties, and start lining up the Christmas tunes and holiday movies for the weeks to come.

How quickly I've moved from Scream (yikes, had enough of that last weekend...) to Home Alone.

Oh, and there's another reason why I love November - this November in particular. A little movie coming out that I've been anxiously waiting for.

November 20th. Twilight Saga: New Moon hits theatres. I...can't...wait.

Ah, Edward. How I've missed thee.

So my vow for November is to try and get back into this Blogging thang, and I'm sure by the time I get to see New Moon, you will have all heard so much about it, you'll be wishing I'd disappear again!

:)

The Unfortunate Ending

It's all over for the 2009 GOFL season, and unfortunately, the Quyon COMBAT Flyers didn't get the happy ending they were looking for to their otherwise-stellar season.

After Monday night's game 4 was rained out in the third inning, the decision was made to continue it last night, and if a game 5 was necessary, it would be immediately following, in Quyon. Theoretically, this took away home field advantage from the Stittsville 56'ers, but it didn't matter in the end.

The Flyers ended up losing that game 4 by a score of 6-0. They were able to shake off that dismal game admirably and battled hard in the next one, but an early 3-0 lead by the 56'ers would prove insurmountable, and they were only able to cash two runs despite their best efforts. Stittsville won the GOFL Championship by a final score of 3-2.

It was a disappointing end, but the Flyers can hold their heads high knowing they will head into the 2010 season with that much more experience, and they are fortunate enough to already have a berth in the 2010 ISC II Tournament of Champions in Midland, Michigan.

They have truly turned heads this season, gaining great respect and quite a few fans, and by taking the defending champs the distance in the GOFL finals before succumbing, they have proven that they are among the elite when it comes to fastball in this part of the country.

It's been one hell of a season. Thanks for the great ride, guys. Can't wait til next year!

One Win Away...

It's October.

And the Quyon COMBAT Flyers are still playing ball.

It's been a crazy-awesome couple of months, following their succesful journey to the Tournament of Champions in Quad Cities, then back home to their own GOFL playoffs, where they have battled their way to the finals, and also a big weekend that saw them crowned the winners of the 2009 Challenge Cup, awarding them one of the first berths in the 2010 ToC.

It's been an outstanding season thus far. And it's not over yet.

Last night, the Flyers took on the Stittsville 56'ers in Game 3 of their best-of-5 final at the Grove in Stittsville. It was a big game; a win would give them the opportunity to close out the series Monday night before their hometown fans in Quyon.

The 56'ers are a formidable opponent, considering they finished first in league standings this year, with an impressive 17-1-2 record. When Quyon defeated them 4-3 in a tight match up in game 2, it was the first time they beat Stittsville all year.

Last night, it was another nail-biter. Actually, no. I didn't bite my nails, because I had mittens on. It was freakin' cold. But the fans that did brave the frigid night air were not disappointed - it was a tense, exciting game, as it went scoreless for quite sometime - a pitching duel between Stittsville's Dan Bradley and Quyon's Drew Hathway.

Stittsville got on the scoreboard first with a solo homerun, but Matt Greer answered back, hitting his own solo to draw the score even again. After seven innings (and having to witness my boneheaded brother strikeout with the bases loaded in the top of 7...where was that magical homerun when we really needed it, huh?!?) the score remained dead-locked, and we were headed to extra innings.

In the top of 8, Luke started the inning on second base because of the extra-inning rule, and ended up stealing 3rd. Greer hit a sac fly on which Luke tagged and scored, giving the Flyers the 2-1 lead. In the bottom of 8, things pretty much went the same, with the Stittsville player who started on 2nd base ending up stealing 3rd. Then Hathway struck out 2 batters, and it all came down to one of Stittsville's best sticks, Scott Herriot. With the count at 3 balls 2 strikes, Herriot was all set to take his walk, but was called out on a controversial third strike. The 56'ers didn't like the call, but nevertheless, the Flyers gathered at the mound to celebrate the win!

So now, with the 2-1 series lead, the boys will be back in the Q, 7:30 Monday night, and should they win, they will take home their first-ever GOFL Championship title. But if they don't get the W, they will still have another crack at it Tuesday night, back in Stittsville for game 5 if necessary.

Monday night will be possibly the biggest game the Flyers have ever played, so make sure you bundle up and get out there to cheer them on!! I guarantee that if they win, the victory beers will be mighty tasty!!!

GO FLYERS!!!

Kings of Leon + Quyon Flyers = Great Weekend!

Last Thursday was the Kings of Leon concert at Scotiabank Place. I ordered the tickets a few weeks ago, based on how much I liked only a handful of songs that I'd heard. Otherwise, I knew nothing about Kings of Leon, and I was worried that my lack of knowledge about them and their music would equal a big waste of money.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Not only was the concert amazing, I came away with an even greater appreciation for the band, their sound, and their songs. I knew I liked them before I went in the doors; when I came out, I was a huge fan.

Opening band Glasvegas was about the only low-light for me. They kicked off the night with what I considered a dark and dreary set. And I SWEAR I could be their drummer - anyone could do what that chick did, it was like the easy level on Rock Band. Nothing they did impressed me. Not one of their songs was my kind of thing. Seriously, Jumpin' Jimmy at the Barley Mow's open mic night (where we had dinner) was more entertaining.

But that didn't matter, 'cause when KOL hit the stage with an eerie opening performance of "Closer", Glasvegas were already out of my mind. They killed it with their southern-rock with its very own unique flavour. Whether hearing new songs that I now can't get enough of, like "The Bucket", "I Want You", "Four Kicks", and "Be Somebody" - or getting lost in the songs that were already my favourites, like "Sex on Fire", "Fans", "Notion", and my ultimate #1 "Use Somebody" - I was never disappointed.

I also was introduced to their song "Cold Desert", a slow-moving, climax-building tune that had fans on the floor crowd surfing - I just can't stop listening to it. Love it. Love it.

Doesn't hurt that band members the Followill brothers and their cousin aren't too hard to look at, either...

So that awesome Thursday night concert kicked off what was to be an even more awesome weekend, as the Quyon COMBAT Flyers, fresh off their win to advance to the GOFL finals, were taking part in the Challenge Cup tournament in McNab/Braeside on Saturday and Sunday. The winning team would secure an early berth at the 2010 ISC II Tournament of Champions, slated to run next August in Midland, Michigan.

The Flyers ended up gaining the benefit of a schedule change when their first-round opponent Napanee bowed out of the tournament at the last minute, earning Quyon a bye through to the 11 AM game versus their league rivals, Carp I4C Victory. The handled them easily, taking it 7-1 with Chad Hargrove getting the win on the mound.

That jumped them right into the 'undefeated game' at 5 PM against the North Fred Kings (from the Kingston area). Buzz around the ball park was that North Fred appeared to be the team to beat, as they had already defeated two of the best teams in the tournament, Team Easton and the Donnacona Blue Sox. Regardless, the Flyers again made it look easy, with the final being 5-1 and Drew Hathway was the winning pitcher.

That win advanced the Flyers to the finals. As the undefeated team in the tournament, they had to be beaten twice to lose the tournament, a double-knockout format. Once again, the North Fred Kings were their opponent, after they had gone on to defeat Carp to make the finals.

Two games weren't needed to crown the Flyers as the champions - in fact, only 3 1/2 innings of the first game were necessary, as North Fred seemed to finally run out of gas. One of their players was ejected from the game, and all of their substitutes had been used, so they were forced to end the game with the Flyers ahead 7-3, and pitcher Joran Graham got the W.

So next August, the Flyers will be headed to Midland, Michigan, and they have the honour of being one of the first teams to qualify for the 2010 ToC! Congrats, guys!

Things sort of came crashing back down last night, however, as the Flyers lost the opening game of their best-of-5 GOFL finals to the Stittsville 56'ers. They actually jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the game, and they held that lead for a few innings before Stittsville discovered their bats and ended up mercying them after 6 innings, with a final score of 7-1.

Hoping for better luck on Thursday night in Quyon, game time 7:30 - come out and cheer on the hometown team!!

Flyers Advance to GOFL Finals!!

To say it was cold at the ball park in Carp last night would be an understatement.

It was frickin' freezing.

But was it worth it to sit out in the frigid night air and literally turn into a popsicle, just to see the Quyon COMBAT Flyers beat Ottawa Team Easton 8-3 in 9 innings to take their semi-final series 3-2??

Absolutely.

The boys kept me busy by giving me the job of keeping Joe (still in hospital) in the loop via BlackBerry messages, and in the third inning I somehow inherited the position of scorekeeper as well. I actually feel like I barely saw any of the game - so many times, I was left to ask Mom & Dad, "OK, what just happened?" Between Joe asking questions and me trying not to sound like a retard in explaining to him what was going on, and attempting to keep the scorebook accurate, I hardly had time to actually watch the game.

But thanks to my jobs, I pretty much can tell you every detail of last night's game!

Thanks to back-to-back triples in the second inning by Steve McCord and Curtis Daley, Quyon took a 1-0 lead on Easton. They answered back with a run of their own, so at the top of 6, with the score tied, Easton pulled ace pitcher Corey Costello from the game, replacing him with Brad Porter.

Extra innings were necessary with the score still tied at 1 after 7. In the top of 8, Quyon scored 2 runs, but Easton again pulled even in the bottom of the inning. It wasn't until the top of 9 that Quyon finally took command of the game. With a runner placed on second to start the inning (the rule during extra innings), Shawn Laframboise singled, bringing my own darling brother to the plate. Magically - somehow - I didn't think he was capable of it (haha) - Luke hit a homerun!! His bomb brought in three runs, and with no outs, the Flyers weren't done yet. Two more runs scored, giving the Flyers the huge 8-3 lead.

Easton never really threatened in the bottom of 9 thanks to stellar pitching by Drew Hathway, who threw all 9 innings for Quyon. And just like that - the Quyon COMBAT Flyers advance to the GOFL finals for the first time!!

I'm so excited for the guys - what a thrilling game, and the promise of more ball against the Stittsville 56'ers in the Finals makes me a very happy kid. I wasn't ready yet for ball to end...

But as I said last night - might have to break out the snowpants for the Finals!!!

GO FLYERS!!

So Much Going On!!

It's been awhile since I've been on to update...Here's the scoop on the Quyon COMBAT Flyers: They are currently playing Team Easton in the GOFL semi-finals, with the best-of-five series tied at 2 games apiece. Last night, they had the opportunity to put the final nail in Easton's coffin, but unfortunately, they ended up losing 2-0. Due to injuries from an accident over the weekend, catcher Joe McCleary is out of the line-up, and the Flyers would really like to win this for him. The final game of the series goes tonight in Carp at 8 PM - should be a good one!

Still with the sports - the Ottawa Senators started their pre-season last night, opening up with a 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. Sens fans had their first peek at new goaltender Pascal Leclaire, who was acquired last season at the trade deadline; however, due to injuries, he was unavailable to play until now. Considering the guy hasn't seen NHL action since last January, and was replaced half-way through the second last night by Robin Lehner, I would say no one should be jumping to conclusions about Leclaire's capabilities based on his first appearance in net this year. Once he settles in and gets some more action, we'll see what this guy is all about.

On Saturday, the Senators finally got rid of the summer-long circus that was Dany Heatley. The former fan favourite had demanded a trade, and became one of the biggest hockey villains this city had ever seen - right up there with the likes of Alexei Yashin and Ray Emery. It's such a relief to no longer have to listen to and read about the Heatley Saga. Shipping him off to San Jose in exchange for Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek might not have improved the talent on this team, but it got rid of a cancer in the dressing room and one of the biggest egos in the NHL. Farewell, Dany, hope I never have to hear your name mentioned again!!

In other news, the death of actor Patrick Swayze at age 57 is in all the entertainment headlines this week. Swayze passed away Monday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. I had heard of his health struggles, but for some reason, I was still shocked to learn of his death. How many times have I watched Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and literally drooled over the man? Doesn't seem right that he's gone... Once again, another star has left too soon.

And last but not least...Yes, I did it. I got tickets to Kings of Leon. I swore I wasn't spending any more money on concerts this year, but the temptation was too great!! The concert is tomorrow night at SBP, and I can't wait!! I'll be sure to give a re-cap on Friday. :)